The present invention relates to a balustrade of a passenger conveyor, and more particularly, to a guide means for slidably attaching a movable handrail to the balustrade.
In a conventional balustrade of a passenger conveyor such as that shown in Japanese Patent Publication No. 55-1224, a balustrade panel made of tempered glass, etc. is disposed on the main frame of the passenger conveyor in the longitudinal direction thereof. A channel-shaped fitting member of a rigid material is fitted on the edge of the balustrade panel through a channel-shaped packing member made of an elastic material. The fitting member has an extension projecting on each side thereof and the extension is covered by a C-shaped guide rail made of a material having a low frictional coefficient such as nylon to guide thereon a moving handrail of rubber having a C-shaped cross section. The handrail is slidably fitted on the guide rails covering said extensions of the fitting member, and the open portion of the C-shaped handrail is positioned below the guide rails and the outer surface of each guide rail engages the inner surface of each side of the handrail in the longitudinal direction thereof.
However, the above-described conventional balustrade has disadvantages in that when the fitting member is press-fitted onto the balustrade panel edge through the packing member, the packing member may be damaged so that a complicated and carefully-performed operation is necessary to properly fit the fitting member onto the balustrade panel. Furthermore, since the balustrade panel is not always uniform in thickness, the fitting member may not firmly fit onto the balustrade panel, and the elastic force of the packing member for attaching the fitting member to the balustrade panel may be reduced by deterioration of the packing member due to aging even when the fitting member has originally been properly fitted on the balustrade panel.
In another conventional balustrade of a passenger conveyor of the type shown in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 57-180583, a channel-shaped fitting member is press-fitted at its fitting groove onto a balustrade panel edge through a channel-shaped packing member, and has extensions extending on both sides of the fitting member for supporting a handrail thereon. The fitting member is attached to the balustrade panel by tightly press-fitting side wall members defining the fitting groove against the edge of the balustrade panel by bolts and nuts. The use of the bolts and nuts requires through holes in the side walls of the fitting member and notches in the packing and the panel edge. Alternatively, the pair of side wall members of the fitting member may be separated by a distance smaller than the thickness of the balustrade panel edge so that they are press-fit on the edge by the elasticity of the material.
However, with the structure using tightening bolts, since the above-mentioned through holes and the notches must be provided in the fitting member, the packing member and the balustrade panel plate, the balustrade has the disadvantage that it is difficult to manufacture and assemble the fitting member, the packing member, and the balustrade panel. A balustrade of the latter type has disadvantages that the packing member may be damaged when the fitting member with side walls is press-fit onto the balustrade panel, and the required press-fitting accuracy is very severe and that the differing thickness of the balustrade panel edge and the aging of the elastic material make the balustrade less reliable.